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     Volume 5 Issue 126 | December 29, 2006 |


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Letters

On "Those Special Ones"
I am a habitual reader of SWM. While I was going through the December 15, 2006 issue, the special feature, "Those Special Ones" by Elita Karim caught my eye. I want to thank her for a wonderful feature about the extraordinary skills of disabled persons.

We think of disabled people as a burden to our family as well as society. But even they have many extraordinary skills, which we do not have. They have to work hard and struggle all throughout their lives. They are normal human beings just like the rest of us but we have a tendency to neglect them and even humiliate them sometimes.

We should look beyond their physical disability and realise that what happened to them could happen to any of us. We should change our attitude towards them. The NGO Centre for Disability in Development (CDD) is playing a very important role in building their careers. I really appreciate their work. The previous government had pledged to spend 20 crore taka on the rehabilitation of disabled persons but they did not spend event a tenth of that amount. If the government took steps like the CDD Bangladesh would win the war against disability.
Md. Nuruzzaman Khan Hira

Dept. of Applied Chemistry & Chemical Technology
University Of Dhaka

Salute to Sven Lampell
Thanks to SWM for publishing an informative cover story on Sven Lampell (15th December, 2006). The cover story based on Sven Lampell, a foreigner who played a very important role in our liberation war was unknown to many of us. I want to thank the writer Shamsad Murtoza for bringing out such a cover story in the month of victory.

I would request the government of Bangladesh to invite the unsung friend of Bangladesh and honour him accordingly. Such a good friend should always be welcomed and respected.
Momtazul Hoq Pappu
Department of Chemistry
Chittagong University

Please Save Our Children
Children are innocent and vulnerable. But in our country they are not safe and secure. Their lives should be happy and peaceful but they are exposed to many dangers. Some dishonest people are using children to do some very dangerous work. Many drug peddlers use children to do illegal and dangerous work and using children is easier and cheaper for their business. Of course they are able to use these children because not only are these children poor and homeless they are also neglected and treated cruelly.

These children need our care and sympathy to live well. Not only the government but also the ordinary people should come forward to save these poor children's lives.
Sharmin Rashid
Utaara, Dhaka

Political Polarisation
The political arena of Latin America has been going through a significant change for the last couple of years following the victory of Hugo Chávez in Venezuela. This bold leader has been elected in its presidential election for another six years to expedite his dream of a socialist revolution named under Simon Bolivar, a protagonist of Venezuelan independence.

The 52-year-old leader proved himself to be an anti-American weapon and a great threat to the US policy. Last September in a UN general meeting Chávez labelled President Bush as 'Satan' which made him the voice of anti-US campaign throughout the world. Fifty per cent of total oil exports go to America from this Latin country. So America has to maintain a policy of silence. This ex-military officer has threatened to stop the supply if any kind of conspiracy is made against him. Moreover Chávez is maintaining a sound relation with Fidel Castro, Ahmedinizad, Iva Moraless in Bolivia who are treated as a nuisance by American policy. But the diatribe against US is not only the reason to get 61 per cent in the presidential election. He spent most of his earnings through selling oil resource for the people's health, food and education sector and gave huge subsidy for the greater interest annoying the upper middle class. As a part of social reconstruction he has created more than a million job opportunities which gave him mass popularity. His heart and soul attempt for a stable economy helped the country achieve more than 10 per cent economic progress this year and made the country the fastest flourishing economy in Latin America.

Critics are scrutinising this victory as a reincarnation of socialism and a new polarisation in the world political arena. Due to the failure of imported democratic policy and its unabated exploitation made the people to think in their own line of attack. Chávez may be treated as a totalitarian by America and its allies but people are choosing to be under him because of their vow to the underprivileged class.
Shakawat Hossain
Accounting Department
City College, Chittagong

Save the Poor
On a cold night I was walking across the platform of Kamalapur Railway Station to go to Chittagong wearing my warm clothes when I noticed many street boys and men busy making a fire to keep them warm. I believe there are many people in our society who have the ability to help these poor people. These people should extend their help to the people of this community who are deprived of the very bare necessities.

I want to request all the SWM subscribers to please just take a look around at your surroundings, because there is somebody who really needs your help.
Nazmus Sakib Nayeem
Dept. of Sociology, DU


Student's Life under Threat
It is known to all that, during the caretaker government's regime the DU campus has to remain closed to curb sectarian rampage among different student political fronts. But this time it had to remain open for the final exams and regular classes. The general students suffered a lot of political harassment through the two notorious political parties. They use the students for their political motivation and create mayhem all over the country. Many of them have been killed because of violent politics. Now there's a student strike on which was enforced by the Chhatra League. The DU authority is not doing enough to create a congenial atmosphere in the campus.

We have spent a significant portion (almost six and a half years) of our lives at DU but are yet to complete our studies. We are groping our way in the darkness, insecure about our future. Who will save us at this juncture? Why are we always the victims during such political crisis? Nobody knows when this incarceration will end!
Farhana Hoque Panna
Dept. of Applied Statistics ( I.S.R.T)
University Of Dhaka


Corrigendum
In last week's magazine the photo credit for the cover photo was inadvertently given to Shahnaz Gazi. The photograph was actually taken by Zahedul I Khan.

Announcement
Due to the Eid-ul-Azha holidays there will be no issue of the Star Weekend Magazine next week (January 5, 2007). We regret any
inconvenience.
We wish our readers a very Happy New Year and Eid Mubarak.

Submission Guideline:
Letters to the Editor, Dhaka Diary and Write to Mita, with the writer's name and address, should be within 200 words. All articles should be within 1,200 words. A cover letter is not necessary, but every write-up should include the writer's name, phone number and email address (if any). While SWM welcomes unsolicited articles and photographs, it cannot accept the responsibility of their loss or damage. SWM does not return unsolicited articles and photos. Response time for unsolicited write-ups range from three weeks to two months. All articles submitted are subject to editing for reasons of space and clarity.
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